Police Scotland have been slated for their "double standards" after Lazio fans were allowed to march through Glasgow making fascist salutes "with no consequences".
Lawyer Aamer Anwar spoke out after footage emerged of the incident, which took place ahead of Celtic's clash with the Italian side last night.
Dozens of travelling supporters were filmed making the salutes as they walked down a busy Buchanan Street to the shock of passersby.
READ MORE: Celtic v Lazio: Police confirm five arrests after Europa League clash
The award-winning Glasgow lawyer joined the masses in condemning the "racist bunch of thugs", but also questioned the actions of the police force during the incident.
He told the Evening Times: "Considering the huge notoriety attached to the ultras of Lazio, why then were a racist bunch of thugs able to march through the streets of Glasgow, making fascist salutes.
"They broke the law with no consequences.
“Where exactly were Police Scotland?
"What is the point of streets cameras and so-called intelligence gathering if they can’t do the basic policing."
He added: “There should never be any no-go zones for members of the public just because of a football match, but today many avoided the city centre or forced to watch a bunch of Nazis parade the streets unchallenged.
"Old Firm fans are quite rightly asking the obvious question, why the double standards?”
Police scotland said "enquiries are ongoing" into that incident.
We saw weeks of @policescotland mobilising to stop violence & thuggery on our streets - So since when are racist thugs giving Fascist salutes allowed the freedom to march unopposed on our GLASGOW streets ? https://t.co/WGLjIul8x7
— Aamer Anwar🎗✊🏽 (@AamerAnwar) October 24, 2019
READ MORE: Show Racism the Red Card slams Lazio fans after group march with fascist salutes
Elsewhere, footage surfaced on social media of a row of away supporters urinating against a fence in Dalmarnock Drive.
In the clip, an irate local can be heard screaming at police as they stand by without intervening.
She said: "You are f*****g ridiculous.
"If that was f*****g us, you'd be lifting us. They should be arrested for that."
In Scotland, under the Anti-social Behaviour Scotland Act 2004, it is a public order offence to urinate in a place that causes, or is likely to cause, annoyance to others.
Chief Inspector Paul Matthews said: "Our policing response has to be proportionate and in some circumstances it may be inappropriate to make an arrest at the time of the offence.
"Due to the potential for escalating tensions, fans were warned about their conduct but it was not proportionate to take any further action at that time."
It's been reported that Italian Special Operations officers were drafted in to the city ahead of the match to prevent violence, and roughly 100 Police Scotland officers escorted around 700 Lazio fans as a group to Parkhead.
This is not the first time Lazio fans had caused trouble with their behaviour.
UEFA recently ordered them to close part of their stadium over fans' fascist gestures and racist chants, with the Italian club pleading with their own supporters to behave.
Comments & Moderation
Readers’ comments: You are personally liable for the content of any comments you upload to this website, so please act responsibly. We do not pre-moderate or monitor readers’ comments appearing on our websites, but we do post-moderate in response to complaints we receive or otherwise when a potential problem comes to our attention. You can make a complaint by using the ‘report this post’ link . We may then apply our discretion under the user terms to amend or delete comments.
Post moderation is undertaken full-time 9am-6pm on weekdays, and on a part-time basis outwith those hours.
Read the rules hereLast Updated:
Report this comment Cancel